Pesticides Methomyl Research Articles

Dizocilpine Improves Beneficial Effects of Cholinergic Antagonists in Anticholinesterase-Treated Mice

Mice were administered anticholinesterase pesticides dichlorvos (DDVP) or methomyl (MET). Both DDVP and MET induced dose-dependent seizures and lethality in mice. The muscarinic antagonist atropine (ATR, 1.8 mg/kg) did not prevent seizures but diminished the lethality induced by DDVP or MET. The nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine (MEC, 1 mg/kg) affected neither DDVP-induced seizures nor DDVP- and MET-induced lethality, but diminished MET-induced seizures. At a higher dose (10 mg/kg), MEC attenuated seizures produced by MET, but not DDVP, and decreased lethality of both anticholinesterases. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist dizocilpine (MK-801, 1 mg/kg) prevented DDVP-, but not MET-induced seizures. MK-801 did not affect DDVP- or MET-induced lethality. Concurrent administration of ATR and MK-801 prevented the occurrence of DDVP- but not MET-induced seizures. MK-801 coadministered with ATR enhanced its protective effect against DDVP- or MET-induced lethality in mice. Coinjection of MEC (at both doses studied) and MK-801 completely prevented seizures produced by both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. Coadministration of MEC (1 mg/kg) and MK-801 protected mice against DDVP or MET lethality. MK-801 administered along with MEC at 10 mg/kg enhanced antilethal effects of the nicotinic antagonist in DDVP- or MET-treated mice. With respect to the mechanism underlying anticholinesterase-induced neurotoxicity, muscarinic and nicotinic, as well as NMDA receptors, seem to play major roles. The results suggest that combined treatment with cholinergic and NMDA antagonists might be beneficial in anticholinesterase-induced poisonings.

The role of ferrous ions in the rapid degradation of oxamyl, methomyl and aldicarb in anaerobic soils

AbstractThe carbamoyloxime pesticides methomyl, oxamyl and aldicarb, together with the oxidation products of aldicarb, are known to break down much more rapidly in certain anaerobic subsoils than in the aerobic topsoils from the same site. Ferrous ions have now been shown to be involved in this reaction. Oxamyl was degraded in aqueous solutions at 30°C containing 250 μg ml−1 Fe2+ with a half‐life of about 10 h, independent of pH in the range of 5.65–7.66; the observed products of this reaction were N,N‐dimethyl‐l‐cyanoformamide and methanethiol. These same products, rather than the oximino hydrolysis product observed from degradation in aerobic soils, were rapidly and quantitatively formed from oxamyl in suspensions of anaerobic reduced subsoils (Fe2+ concentration 27–41 μg ml−1 soil water), but oxamyl was rather stable in water‐saturated Vredepeel subsoil (Fe2+ concentration 0.65 μg ml−1) in which the redox potential was much higher. Methomyl behaved similarly. The rates of reaction in the suspensions of anaerobic subsoils were greater than expected from the concentrations of Fe2+ in the soil water, but most of the Fe2+ present in soil was bound to the soil particles by cation exchange and this bound Fe2+ may have participated. Breakdown of aldicarb was accelerated both in solutions of Fe2+ and in the suspensions of anaerobic reduced subsoils, though the rate enhancement was less than observed with methomyl and oxamyl; 2‐methyl‐2‐methylthiopropionitrile and 2‐methyl‐2‐methylthiopropionaldehyde were the observed products from aldicarb in anaerobic soil but only the former was produced in Fe2+ solutions; the corresponding nitriles and aldehydes were also yielded by aldicarb sulphoxide and aldicarb sulphone in the anaerobic, reduced subsoils.

Propanil-Chloracne and Methomyl Toxicity in Workers of a Pesticide Manufacturing Plant

In a survey of occupationally acquired disease in workers at a pesticide plant, we found that 11 (11%) of 102 workers had been hospitalized for illness related to chemical exposures; highest hospitalization rates occurred in packaging (27%), production (22%), and maintenance (9%) workers. Commonest causes of hospitalization were intoxication by the carbamate pesticide methomyl [1-(methylthio)ethylideneamino methyl carbamate], a reversible cholinesterase inhibitor, and methemoglobinemia following exposure to 3,4-dichloroaniline. On clinical evaluation, five (46%) of 11 packaging workers, the group with the highest exposure to methomyl, had experienced blurred vision or pupillary constriction. Seventeen (61%) of 28 production workers with exposure to dichloroaniline and propanil (3'4'-dichloropropionanilide) had chloracne, an acne-form dermatosis caused by the contaminant tetrachlorazobenzene in propanil and dichloroaniline. The chloracnegenic potentials of propanil and dichloroaniline were verified by rabbit ear tests. These findings reemphasize the hazards inherent in the the manufacture and formulation of pesticides and herbicides.